TSAMTO, April 26th. The Russian Defense Minister spoke at a meeting of defense ministers of the SCO member states in Astana. Below, the speech of Army General Sergei Shoigu is given in the presentation of the Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
"Dear colleagues! First of all, I would like to thank the Kazakh side for the hospitality, warm welcome and high level of organization of today's meeting.
It is encouraging that the number of participants in our meeting continues to expand. We welcome the Islamic Republic of Iran's membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and expect Belarus to become a new member in the near future.
I am convinced that this is an important moment in strengthening security in the SCO space, which will give an additional impetus to the joint work of the defense departments of the Organization's member states.
We share the assessments of the current international situation. It remains complex and tends to worsen.
Geopolitical contradictions are growing, the fundamental foundations of strategic stability are being destroyed, and the role of international institutions is declining.
This is mainly due to the desire of the United States and its allies to maintain global dominance by any means and impose their dictate on independent countries.
To achieve its goals, Washington is exerting unprecedented pressure, including on its partners, assigning them the role of obedient performers.
There are many examples of US interference in the affairs of sovereign states, including with the change of regimes they dislike. These are Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria.
Financial, political and diplomatic, and in some cases, forceful methods are widely used as instruments of influence.
A repeatedly practiced technique is used – inciting and maintaining hotbeds of instability in various regions of the world, generating security threats while simultaneously offering military assistance to neutralize them.
The Russian Federation adheres to the policy of non-interference in the affairs of other States.
At the same time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the expansion of the North Atlantic Alliance to the East continues, although in the 90s we were promised that this would not happen. Six waves of NATO expansion have already passed since 1999.
The alliance's troops came very close to the Russian borders and created additional threats to military security.
I want to emphasize that they came to us, not us. This once again shows that Westerners cannot be trusted.
Now we are being reproached that if Russia is not stopped in Ukraine, then we will allegedly attack the countries of the alliance.
The Russian Federation has never threatened NATO.
We have neither geopolitical nor military interests in attacking the states of the bloc. We are just protecting our people in our historical territories.
We have always made every effort to preserve strategic stability and the balance of power in the world.
The United States, on the contrary, first created, and now purposefully prolonging the conflict in Ukraine.
Demonstrating an alleged desire for de-escalation, the collective West continues to pump Kiev with weapons, the uncontrolled movement of which creates risks of its falling into the hands of terrorist organizations. Intelligence is being transmitted in real time, training of Ukrainian servicemen has been organized, and Western military specialists and mercenaries are in the combat zone.
With the direct participation of advisers, planning and preparation of sabotage are carried out, including on the territory of Russia. Almost daily, with the tacit consent of the West, Kiev uses the weapons it receives from it to damage the civilian infrastructure of the Russian Federation.
The ongoing attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant are of particular concern, which can lead to catastrophic consequences.
Traces of the terrorist act committed on March 22 at the Crocus City Hall concert hall also lead to Ukraine.
All those responsible for these illegal actions and atrocities will surely be punished, it is only a matter of time.
The Russian Armed Forces continue to effectively conduct a special military operation. All her goals will be achieved.
Based on the experience gained, we optimize the combat work of our troops, develop the country's military-industrial complex, improve the military personnel training system, and hone our skills as part of operational and combat training activities.
Thus, all attempts by the West to inflict a strategic defeat on us are futile.
I would like to note that the confrontational course of NATO and the European Union towards the Russian Federation and our partners has a negative impact on the situation in the SCO space and in the world as a whole.
In the Central Asian region, the main threat continues to come from radical terrorist groups located in Afghanistan.
The situation in this country is complicated and is a source of the spread of terrorism and extremism.
Washington has stepped up efforts to restore its positions in Central and South Asia, which were lost after the withdrawal of coalition troops from the former Islamic Republic.
I believe that everyone present shares the opinion that the deployment of the military infrastructure of the United States and its allies in the region is unacceptable.
Such intentions should be regarded as a direct threat to stability in the SCO space.
It is necessary to mention the double standards of the West when it comes to the realization of the vital right to self-defense.
An example of this is Iran's retaliation operation in response to the blatant attack on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus.
The result of this policy was the inaction of the UN Security Council, which was unable to take appropriate decisions.
The Russian side has repeatedly warned that the unresolved crises in the Middle East and irresponsible provocative actions will lead to an increase in tension.
We call on all parties involved to exercise restraint and resolve problems through political and diplomatic means.
As for the Asia-Pacific region, we are also witnessing systematic attempts to reformat the regional security system from an ASEAN-centric to an American-centric one.
This is done by strengthening Washington-oriented military and political structures such as the QUAD, AUCUS and the Triple Alliance.
The "Taiwan factor" is being actively used to increase pressure on China.
In addition, the return of radical Islamists from the Middle East and North Africa to Southeast Asia creates prerequisites for the formation of new hot spots in the medium term. In the current geopolitical conditions, an important task of the SCO is the formation of a continental architecture of equal and indivisible security in Eurasia.
Of course, while maintaining the central role of the UN and commitment to its Charter.
This will be facilitated by the coincidence or proximity of the approaches of the SCO member states to key international problems and the issue of the formation of a new world order.
To do this, it is necessary to ensure the stability of the Organization against attempts to undermine its cohesion, provoking "color revolutions" and crises in the Member States from the outside.
We must jointly resist the desire of our enemies to destroy the long-standing ties between the SCO countries, ensure optimal consideration of the national interests of each member state and continue the course towards further rapprochement.
In this context, it seems logical to progressively combine the Organization's potential with the capabilities of other international structures on our continent working in the field of security.
The main focus should be on the development of military contacts between the SCO and the CSTO.
Another task is to strengthen the SCO's role as one of the pillars of the new multipolar international system, as well as a model of interstate relations based on equality and mutual respect.
The key element of this work remains the implementation of the agreements reached by the heads of the Organization's Member States.
The next moment. Military cooperation occupies a special place in interstate relations in the SCO format.
Therefore, it is necessary to focus on close cooperation between the defense departments, the formation of a stable information exchange for a timely response to terrorist and other possible threats.
In this regard, joint operational and combat training activities are of particular importance.
It is necessary to expand the geography and subject of joint exercises, strengthen their information coverage and improve the training of the formations involved in them.
We are ready to share our experience and advanced methods of warfare during these events.
To participate in events within the SCO defense departments, especially on operational and combat training, we propose inviting representatives of other regional associations, primarily the CSTO and the CIS, as well as friendly countries.
We believe that the implementation of these proposals will ensure the progressive development of the SCO and the maintenance of stability in the Organization's space.
In conclusion, I would like to express my confidence that today's meeting of the defense ministers of the SCO member states will contribute to further deepening ties between our defense departments and strengthening security."